David Strom writes for HotAir.com about potential bad news for California’s governor.
California may have the fourth-largest economy in the world, but even within that state, rising through the political ranks, the scrutiny a candidate gets is not remotely comparable to what a candidate for president is subjected to.
State politics tends to be insular, with political machines shepherding their favorites while destroying or buying off the people who challenge them. California’s machine is, if anything, better tuned and more greased than most because there is so much money involved and so much back-scratching that outcomes can usually be pre-determined by choices made months or even years prior to their coming to fruition.
Gavin Newsom is a perfect example of this. He rapidly rose through the ranks, from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to mayor of that city. Then Lieutenant Governor, and now Governor. He had plenty of scandals along the way, but none of them mattered because he was picked to rise to the top.
That’s not how things work, exactly, at the level of presidential politics. While the Democratic Party has had enormous power in choosing candidates due to a rigged nomination process, the level of control is far less on the national scale. There are party factions, and media folks are not all aligned on candidate choice. Even local reporters, who go along to get along at the state level, see an opportunity to stand out by revealing dirt or digging into things that would have gone unnoticed before. …
… Even if Newsom weren’t facing a federal investigation, I’m pretty sure the efforts to take him out would only intensify. There is an awful lot of material to work with, and a great incentive to take him down, given the growing split in the party. Despite Kamala Harris’ standing in the polls at the moment, she would have an extremely difficult time taking Newsom out on an even playing field, and many of the other candidates would love to see him go down.
All of them have media folks who will help them.
